Barbara Barrie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara Barrie
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Barrie in 1980
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| Born |
Barbara Ann Berman
May 23, 1931 |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin (B.F.A., 1952) |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1953–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Jay Harnick
(m. 1964; died 2007) |
| Children | 2 |
Barbara Barrie (born Barbara Ann Berman; May 23, 1931) is an American actress and author. She has had a long career in movies, television, and theater.
Barbara Barrie became well-known in 1964 for her role as Julie in the movie One Potato, Two Potato. For this role, she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. She is also famous for playing Evelyn Stohler in the movie Breaking Away. This role earned her an Academy Award nomination in 1979. She was also nominated for an Emmy Award in 1981 when she played the same character in the TV series based on the movie.
On television, many people know Barbara Barrie as the wife of the main character in the detective comedy show Barney Miller from 1975 to 1978. She has also done a lot of work in theater. She was nominated for a Tony Award in 1971 for her role as Sarah in Stephen Sondheim's musical Company.
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Barbara Barrie's Theater Career
Barbara Barrie started her professional acting career in theater. In 1953, she was a resident actress for a theater company in Corning, New York. She played the main role in a play called The Moon is Blue. She also worked at the Rochester Arena Theatre.
Early Broadway and Off-Broadway Roles
Barbara Barrie made her first appearance on Broadway in 1955 in the play The Wooden Dish. In 1959, she was in another Broadway play, The Beaux' Stratagem. She also performed in Off-Broadway plays, including The Crucible in 1958. She was part of the American Shakespeare Theatre for two seasons, playing many Shakespearean characters. In 1961, she toured Europe as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker.
Notable Theater Performances
In 1969, she played Viola in Twelfth Night, a play by Shakespeare. A year later, in 1970, Barbara Barrie created the role of Sarah in Stephen Sondheim's musical Company. This musical won a Tony Award for Best Musical. Barbara Barrie herself was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
In 1974, she received an Obie Award for Best Actress for her role in The Killdeer. She also performed in Neil Simon's popular Broadway play California Suite in 1976. In 2014, she was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle award for her role in I Remember Mama Off-Broadway.
Barbara Barrie's Film Career
Barbara Barrie's first movie role was uncredited in Giant in 1956. Her first credited role was in The Caretakers in 1963.
Breakthrough Role in One Potato, Two Potato
In 1964, Barbara Barrie got her first main role in a movie called One Potato, Two Potato. She played Julie Cullen Richards, a divorced woman who remarries an African-American man. Her ex-husband tries to get custody of their child because of the new marriage. This movie was seen as controversial at the time because it dealt with racial tensions. Barbara Barrie won the Cannes Best Actress Award for her performance.
Academy Award Nomination for Breaking Away
In 1979, Barbara Barrie was highly praised for her role as Evelyn Stohler in Breaking Away. She played the mother of a young man who dreams of becoming an Italian bicycle racer. Breaking Away was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Barbara Barrie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1980, she played the mother of Goldie Hawn's character in Private Benjamin.
Barbara Barrie's Television Career
Barbara Barrie first appeared on television in 1955 on Kraft Television Theatre. Throughout the 1960s, she guest-starred on many popular TV shows. She appeared in The Defenders, Ben Casey, and Route 66. In 1963, she was in The Twilight Zone episode "Miniature" with Robert Duvall.
From 1975 to 1978, Barbara Barrie played Elizabeth Miller, the wife of the main character, in the TV show Barney Miller. In 1979, she played Mamie Eisenhower in the TV mini-series Backstairs at the White House. When the movie Breaking Away was turned into a TV series in 1980, Barbara Barrie played Evelyn Stoller again. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for this role.
In 1992, she was nominated for another Emmy Award for her performance in an episode of Law & Order. From 1996 to 2000, she was in 92 episodes of Suddenly Susan as Helen Keane, the grandmother of Brooke Shields' character. In 2003, she received an Emmy Award nomination for her guest role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her more recent TV appearances include roles on Pushing Daisies, Nurse Jackie, and Enlightened.
Barbara Barrie's Books
Barbara Barrie has written two books for children. In 1990, she published Lone Star. This book is about a girl named Jane who moves from Illinois to Texas. It talks about her Orthodox Jewish family adjusting to life in Texas.
Her second book, Adam ZigZag, came out in 1994. It is also a true story about a young boy named Adam whose mother is an actress. Adam struggles with dyslexia, a learning difficulty that affects reading.
She has also written two books about her experience with a type of cancer: Second Act (1997) and Don't Die of Embarrassment (1999). She believes that talking about early detection of cancer is "more important than acting."
Barbara Barrie's Personal Life
Barbara Barrie was born in Chicago, Illinois, but she grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. She finished high school there in 1948. She then went to The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) and earned a degree in Drama in 1952. After college, she moved to New York to start her acting career.
While at UT-Austin, she received several awards and scholarships for her acting. She married director and producer Jay Malcolm Harnick in July 1964. They had two children, Jane Caroline and Aaron Louis. Jay Harnick founded Theatreworks USA, a theater company for young audiences.
In 1994, Barbara Barrie was successfully treated for a type of cancer. In 2014, she shared that she had been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease. However, she later clarified that she does not have this condition. She lives in New York City.
Images for kids
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Barrie in 1980
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Barrie on the set of Barney Miller in 1975 with Hal Linden
See also
In Spanish: Barbara Barrie para niños
